NASA wants your best Moon shots ahead of the Artemis I mission launch

In only a few days, NASA is launching Artemis I. It will travel 40,000 miles beyond the Moon and back, paving the way to sending humans to lunar orbit on the second flight test, Artemis II. To celebrate and build the hype, NASA wants you to share the best Moon photos that you’ve taken. In fact, you can share anything Moon-related, but to stay in our field, let’s stick with photos and how you can show them off to NASA.

The Artemis I mission launches on 29 August at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will last 42 days, 3 hours, and 20 minutes, and the total journey will take 1.3 million miles (2.1 million kilometers). It will be the first flight test of the integrated Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, designed for the demands of human missions to deep space.

During the flight, the Orion spacecraft’s internal and external cameras will capture views of Earth and the Moon. So while we wait and hype about it, NASA wants to see your photos of the Earth’s satellite. So what do you need to do?

Well, it’s simple: post your work to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or Reddit and use the hashtag #NASAMoonSnap. That’s all. If NASA likes your work, they’ll share it on their social media accounts, website, and during the Artemis I launch broadcast.

If you’re up for an extra challenge, you try #NASAMoonSnap Expert Mode: try making a #NASAMoonSnap every day for a month. NASA explains the process and shares a Moon log you can use:

“Set aside some time each day to look at the Moon. Record your observations in any way you like, whether that’s a photo or drawing of the Moon every day – even making a Moon cookie for each phase! Use the #NASAMoonSnap log provided or create your own!”

As I mentioned, you can submit anything else moon-related and moon-inspired: food, music, videos, embroidery, paintings, crochet, toys, lamps… The sky is the limit. Or actually, not even the sky. I don’t think it needs to be your finest work, it can simply be the dearest to you (like the moon photo I took with a phone and a toy telescope). In both cases, you get a chance of NASA sharing it so you can get hyped both about that and the Artemis I launch.